Fabulous Finds: The Frivolous Dress

It's freezing here, like everywhere else, :) and I'm dreaming of bygone days when elegant parties were thrown and beautiful dresses were made.

My personal favorite is the turquoise one. How about you?
Or you could just pass me a bolt of either fabric...

Treasury full of goodies! Go take a closer look! Some of these shops had several wonderful pieces that made it hard
to choose which to feature.

While I find myself wanting one of each, of all these; the reality of life, then and now was, an individual would probably only wear one of these dresses in her entire life. So think carefully... which would you choose?

Christmas In July Blitz!

HoHoHo! Merry Christmas! As the sweat pours down and temperatures continue to rise for those of us in the northern hemisphere it's time for us to keep busy inside, getting a jumpstart on those Christmas plans. To help you in your endeavors, the delightful PatternPatter team is having a blitz today. You can see all the new listings in this thread, which also includes a list of shops offering sales. So what are we offering?

Things to keep kids busy!

 PrePrinted Fabric panels like these are great for getting kids involved since the cutting
and sewing lines are already printed. From Sew Betty and Dot

Placemats for the Christmas table or make them seat mats for the kids to sit on around the tree
Christmas morning. From EmSewCrazy

Keep those nimble fingers busy!

Things to keep you warm!

Sweet Baby Bunting

For those who deal with more rain than snow.

Something more along the lines of what I need to wear in winter.

For Staying In

For Going Out

For Whatever You May Be About

Where ever you are, I hope you are having a wonderful day! See ya around!

June Trends Alert

by Amy of ViennasGrace

Gucci spring/summer 2013

Elie Saab did it and so did Ralph Lauren, a big summer fashion trend that is showing up from ready to wear to high end fashion, ruffles. Sometimes as a dramatic flounce flowing down a caftan, an asymmetric jabot placed perfectly on a one shoulder blouse, or feminine ruffles spinning around a soft tiered floral skirt.

Ralph Lauren spring/summer 2013

We see the changes in the use of ruffles throughout the decades in our sewing patterns. In the 1940s an 

off the shoulder blouse or sundress frequently had a single or double ruffled neckline. Late 50s and early 60s used ruffles more as a trim, showing up on collars or finishing off hem lines. The 70s disco scene had a great look, using soft cascading waves down the front of a wrap dress. Let’s not forget the 1980s use of ruffles, blouses adorned with high neck jabots and the multi tiered skirts seen on numerous prom dresses and bridal gowns.

Top row CherryCorners Butterick 3511, AdeleBeeAnnPatterns Butterick 4801, CloesCloset Vogue 2218, retromonkeys Simplicity 1628

Bottom row Vogue 6403, allthepresiousthings Vogue 6229, RomasMaison McCall's 4269, DesignRewindFashions Vogue 9667

So as the peak of summer is nearly here, keep the fashion savvy seamstress in mind. She won’t be shopping in the high dollar designer stores, She will be hunting for the latest summer trends in all our lovely vintage patterns. Use your listing descriptions and tags creatively so she can easily find that special blouse with rows of ruffles and that perfect glamorous party dress with a flounce.

Let's Promenade Part Three

by Sew Betty and Dot

Are you ready to dance the night away? Let’s go!

Part One and Part Two took us from the beginning of prom to the 1960s. Today we'll start with the 70s and end up with today's styles.

Enter the 1970s: peasant-style dresses (Young Edwardian, anybody?), ruffled necklines and hems, and prints were popular. Many girls wore their hair long and loose.

McCall's 4821: Sandmarg

Simplicity 9259: BunnysLuck

And then: Disco! Slinky gowns, halter tops or one-shouldered dresses, and feathered hair were the rage for most…

McCall’s 5360, the Infinite Dress: DesignRewindFashions

McCall’s 5371: CaliforniaSunset

McCall’s 6396: RetroMonkeys

The 1980s were all about BIG: poufy sleeves, poufy skirts, poufy bows, and poufy hair (teased bangs!). The extravagant wedding dress worn by Princess Diana (designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel) in 1981 influenced formal wear: large sleeves, layers of ruffles, and bows. Satin was a favorite fabric choice, often in bright colors, and shorter dresses with dropped waists and bubble skirts. In my Lexington, Kentucky, high school, Gunne Sax was a popular choice. 

Simplicity 6235: The HalfHouse

Butterick 4801: AdeleBeeAnn

McCall’s 3172: RetroWithLana

Style 4746: RosesPatternTreasury

And we’ll stop here on this frock-filled trip down memory lane. Since the 1990s, girls have followed trends but also expressed themselves in tuxedos, vintage dresses, even duct tape dresses. This year, it looks like strapless or one-shouldered column dresses are on trend, and I’m seeing a lot of sweetheart necklines.

Finally, here I am (yikes!) in various dresses for various dances (my high school had a Christmas formal as well as prom). My mom made all of them except for the peach dress—which  was a Gunne Sax, actually, and was repurposed by removing the straps and altering the ruffles for another dance a year or two later. 

Do you have a favorite prom era?